IHC reserves ruling on maintainability of plea challenging presidential delay in judicial appointments

The Islamabad High Court (IHC) recently took a pause in ruling on the legal challenge regarding President Asif Ali Zardari's delay in endorsing a summary for the appointment of 19 judges and confirmation of five others to high courts. This writ petition, submitted by advocate Luqman Zafar Chaudhary, requested the court to instruct the president to act on the summary forwarded by the prime minister.

This matter was taken up by Justice Arbab Muhammad Tahir on Thursday, with his legal team presenting arguments that the Judicial Commission of Pakistan (JCP) had approved the appointments during discussions on July 20 and 21. The petition claims the president had not approved the summary within 15 days, leading to delays in the superior judiciary's operations.

The government reportedly might issue notifications for the appointments within 48 hours. The court further questioned whether a constitutional petition could be maintained against the president and sought precedent cases. The constitution allows the president to act "on and in accordance with the advice of the cabinet or the prime minister", but can request reconsideration within 15 days and act based on the advice given subsequently.

The Supreme Court has previously ruled that the president lacks discretion in appointing superior court judges and must follow the prime minister's advice. The petitioner's counsel argued that the law ministry could issue notifications without the president's approval, suggesting the president's role is ceremonial. However, the court did not yet decide on the maintainability of the petition.